New body scanner adds to SCCC security

Photo by Shari Harris
Warden Michele Buckner demonstrates the random selector button (on wall above her right hand) before stepping into the body scanner, which is located on her left. Selected staff will enter the scanner prior to passing through the metal detector shown in foreground of photo.

By Shari Harris, Publisher

A demonstration of the new Tek84 Body Scanner installed at the entry of South Central Correctional Center was held Wednesday, July 31, for guests and media. August 1 was the “go-live” day for use of the more thorough technology at SCCC and three other prisons across the state. Passing through the scanner will be mandatory for visitors, contractors, vendors and randomly selected staff.

The system is designed to improve detection of smuggling of drugs or other contraband into the facility. All visitors, contractors and vendors will be asked to put items from their pockets or that they are carrying into bins that are then scanned with baggage scanners. Then they will step into the Tek84 Body Scanner, which improves the ability to detect items hidden under clothes or in body cavities. After the scan, they will still pass through the metal detector and receive a pat down search as previously done.

When staff arrive for their shift, they will place their items in bins, remove their shoes, then hit a random selector button. The random selector may allow them to immediately pass through the metal detector followed by a pat down, or it may “select” them to step into the body scanner first.

SCCC already utilizes the technology for offenders in other locations within the prison, with a scanner in their work release unit, one centralized in the facility and one in the visitor section. Two more are anticipated for the segregation units.

Missouri Department of Corrections officials feel the scanners will add another layer of security, improving the safety of offenders and staff at the correctional centers. The purchase of the scanners was made possible due to support by the Missouri General Assembly.